Welcome to the For Joy’s Sake book tour! I hope you’ll follow along, visit some great book sites, find entertaining and worthwhile reading material along the way, maybe win a prize or two! More than that, though, I hope you find some joy!

HER BREATH CAUGHT in her throat, Julie Fairbanks crouched on the floor, hugging her knees, staring at the television screen. The baby who’d been born in a man-made bubble town, who’d been raised and surrounded by people who were only there to keep up appearances, was a man himself now. And about to break free…

“A heartwrenching story that brings an innocent little girl’s plight to life. Strong characters unite to help ease her trauma and learn truths about life and each other that will bring a closeness that both truly needed. It was great to see Julie again and see her working towards the healing she has so desperately deserved. Really enjoyed visiting The Lemonade Stand again!“

She didn’t like how Lila’s statement made her feel. As though she, Julie, wasn’t quite done with moving on. As though she was still broken.

The truth was, she’d never be done with it. Not really. There was no way to erase what had happened, and no way not to be affected by it.

But she was able to live more normally now.

Excerpt: Chapter 1, Part 5

“I wanted Chantel and Colin to be able to welcome guests into their home as a couple. More specifically, I wanted Chantel to feel like the hostess, the woman of the house. Since she came into our lives on a lie, she still sometimes feels like an imposter, like she’s not really one of us, especially when there’s a gathering that includes people who don’t know the details. It can be hard for her. As if making the transition from street cop to detective wasn’t difficult enough, she’s living in a society that’s completely unfamiliar to her. If I was there, people would naturally turn to me as the hostess and…”

It was the reason she’d given her brother and his wife for skipping out on the high-dollar evening they’d been planning for several months. They hadn’t been happy with her proposed absence, hadn’t thought it necessary, but they’d accepted her choice. Because her reasoning was valid.

“But why are you here?” Lila asked.

Julie frowned. It wasn’t unusual for her to be at The Lemonade Stand. In a volunteer capacity with the children, but also hanging out with the women. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s Friday night. You’re twenty-eight years old. Independently wealthy and lovely. You could be doing any number of things for fun and relaxation. Okay, so you wanted to be away from your home for the night. You could’ve booked yourself into a resort spa. Gone to the theater. You could have been on a date.”

Julie didn’t respond to Lila. She couldn’t.

Inside her, everything was tense. Poised for escape.

“We need you here, Julie. You know that. And we all want you here. You bring a nurturing and understanding and compassion that’s special and very, very precious to these women. And to the staff.”

Julie raised her eyes to Lila’s. And was scared by the concerned crease in the other woman’s brow.

“But we aren’t being a friend back to you,” Lila went on, “we aren’t good for you if you’re using us as a hideout.”

Ironic, considering that the Stand existed so women had a place to hide and be safe while they healed.

“If you need to be here, you are welcome. Always. I don’t ever want you to need to come to us and then change your mind. Or your course of action. But if you need to be here, then we need to be doing something to help you.”

All of them mourned for the lives they’d lost. For the dreams they’d lost. For the sense of security that had been taken from them. They yearned for real homes. Yearned to be in control of their lives again. And they lived in fear, too.

Julie wasn’t afraid of being attacked again. She had a lovely home that she cherished, a bed of her own that she’d be returning to that night.

“I am in wow. This one left me speechless. I absolutely adored the story of Julie and Hunter. I think I fell for little miss Joy the most. . . . Get this story today. You will not regret it. I could not put this book down!!!“

“Once again Ms. Quinn has given us a story that is intense–all three main characters: Julie, Hunter, and little Joy–have significant issues that are keeping them back in some way so that they need to work through to get their lives back. . . . Watching all three characters grow and heal, though, definitely gives us enough story that we don’t mind romance taking a bit of a back seat. The incorporation of Julie’s children’s books into the healing that all three do adds to the magic of the story–absolutely loved it!“

JULIE STOOD UP in Lila’s parlor, wishing she could escape into any of the antique paintings on the walls depicting faraway places. The way she escaped into her own paintings in her home studio. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here tonight…” As she heard her own words, she heard Lila’s earlier ones, too, about not ever wanting Julie to feel that she shouldn’t come to The Lemonade Stand.

Lila wasn’t telling her to leave. But Julie would rather leave than hear what Lila was telling her.

“Julie’s love story was a long time coming but for me, it ended as an HFN. . . I felt like the book ended too soon. I needed more, much more.

Overall, Julie’s story is good. And I’m glad that Hunter is her man. But I just felt the ending was a bit rushed and seemed incomplete. Otherwise, another awesome installment revolving around The Lemonade Stand.“

“I hope you consider all of us here your friends,” Lila said, finally picking up her cup of tea and sipping. “But I’m not just talking about friends. Look at Sara and Lynn—” full-time counselor and resident nurse at the Stand “—they’re both committed to this place and have personal lives, too. They have spouses and children.”

The threat of tears nearly strangled her. Lila was wrong. In the end, everyone was alone. Alone in your mind. In your secret places. Alone in a pain only you could feel. In a fear only you could fight.

No one else could know what it felt like to live with your own inability to trust.

Except that she was soft-spoken, often quiet, but when she had something to say he wanted to listen. She wasn’t pushy or aggressive, and yet she always managed to make things happen. She dressed more conservatively than any other woman he’d ever wanted to date. She’d never once mentioned that she lived in a mansion or that her trust fund was worth more than he’d ever had in all his investments combined. Her long dark hair was always contained. She had a smile that could melt ice.

And a scent that he dreamed about, waking up on more than one occasion expecting to smell it on the pillow beside him.

Oh, yeah, he had it bad.What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned for 2017?

I am currently working on final revisions of an Indie published novella from this same Where Secrets Are Safe Superromance series. The novella is part of a 10 book anthology releasing in October, Falling For You, that is written by 10 bestselling Superromance authors, using towns from our Superromance novels!

I’m also writing the last Where Secrets Are Safe book…

And don’t forget to enter the giveaways below, if you haven’t already…

Hunter Rafferty is committed to two things: his bachelor lifestyle and his career as an event planner. But working with Julie Fairbanks on a fund-raising gala is quickly becoming the best part of his day. He can’t stop thinking about the mysterious beauty—despite her refusals to have dinner with him.

Everything changes when seven-year-old Joy comes to The Lemonade Stand, a shelter for victims of abuse. To help Joy overcome her trauma and the mystery surrounding it, Hunter and Julie push beyond their boundaries, confronting their own past pain…and feelings for each other.

Other Books in the Where Secrets Are Safe Series(Books released as of July 2017. Each can be read as a standalone.)

About the Author

The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. A 2015 RITA finalist Tara appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists, and multiple showings on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning.

Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.

As Tara supports speaking out against domestic violence and supporting those who have been abused, both through her books and in her community, she would love for you to join her in donating items to a shelter in your area. Find out more here.